Containers or “kits” for food products often include a base with several compartments, each containing a separate food product. For instance, one compartment may contain cheese intended to be spread on crackers contained in a second compartment. A third compartment may include cookies or a dessert item intended to be consumed separately from the cheese and crackers.
These types of containers often have molded plastic or polymeric material forming the compartments. The containers are constructed such that the compartments form walls separating the food products. The food products are placed in the compartments, and a cover is applied to the compartments. The cover is sealed to the walls so that each food product is isolated from the environment outside of the container and is isolated from each other food product.
The cover is often intended to be the front or top of the package, and may be at least partially clear so that some or all of the food products are substantially visible. This enables a potential purchaser or consumer to examine the package and readily view some of the contents of the container.
In addition, the cover may be used to display pertinent information regarding the food product. The cover may present information such as ingredients, a trade or retail name, a manufacturer name, instructions for using and combining the package contents, and other information that is either desirable from a marketing perspective or required from a legal standpoint. Backcards are often used to provide nutritional facts, lists of ingredients, bar codes, and other information.
Commercial food containers generally must be capable of inexpensive manufacture. The amount of material for the container should be limited to reduce cost. In addition, economical manufacturing processes for the container are preferred.
Retail food containers or packages should be easy to open and use properly. Although some of the food product in the compartments may be relatively secure, such as cheese spread, some of the food product may be loose, such as crackers or sprinkles for a dessert item. When the cover and seal are peeled open, the base portion of the container may be flexed by the pulling of the cover. This may lead to spillage during peeling or after the peeling force is released by the separation of the cover from the base if the package is not sufficiently rigid.
Retail display of these packages has intertwined aesthetic and functional aspects. Generally, the packages are intended to be attractive to customers, and in some cases, as noted above, the packages permit a potential purchaser to view the contents. Some packages are displayed on shelves, on end with the cover at the front of the display to be readily visible to the consumer. In other instances, packages are hung from a rod or peg, again with the cover facing forward. In both cases, features generally must be provided to enable the packages to be supported in the desired orientation, while also enabling the packages to be formed, filled and sealed economically in commercial mass production.
It is known to have merchandise display hangers that are adhesively attached to video cassettes or the like and have a fold-out hanging portion with an aperture therein for hanging on a rod or hook, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,328,137 and 4,832,301. The hanging portion is centrally located in the flat hanger sheet and occupies a very substantial portion of the hanger body. In the hanger of U.S. Pat. No. 5,328,137, an opening or gap is provided in the bottom edge to facilitate grasping of the lower end of the fold-out, hanging portion. This gap extends throughout the height of the bottom section to the bottom edge of the fold-out, hanging portion. When the fold out hanging portion is grasped and swung upwardly and out of the plane of the body, two legs are left on the body. The legs and a small strip on the inner side of the hanger body are available for adhering the hanger body to the video cassette, but cover only a top portion of the video cassette, and hence do not function as a backcard nor as a large surface area for bearing indicia.